Railway tie and joint



S. EDWARDS RAILWAY TIE AND JOINT April 6 1926.

Filed Oct. 1924 Guam;

Patented Apr. 6, 1926.

UNITED STATES SAMUEL EDwAansoF CHARLESTON, wzesr VIRGINIA.-

' RAILWAY TIE AND JOINT.

7 Application filed October 10, 1924. Serial No. 742,934.

To aZZ whom it may concern:

- Be it known that I, SAMUEL EDWARDS, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Charleston, county of Kanawha, State of Vest Virginia, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Railway Ties and Joints, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a railway tie adapted to be placed at the point where the ends oftwo rails are joined, and to rail fastenings to be used in combination with said tie and joint,

It is an object of this invention to pro vide an improved railway tie of simple and economical construction which hasa largely increased bearing surface at the rail joint.

It is a further object of this invention to provide improved rail fastenings adapted to be used with said tie, which will prevent the rails from moving relative to one another or to the tie, and which will maintain the.

rail ends in proper alignment.

Referring to the accompanying drawings forming a part of this. specification:

-Figure 1 is a top plan view of my improved tie, showing therails and rail fastening means thereon,

Figure. 2 is an enlarged side elevation of a portion of Figure 1, showing my improved rail joint in detail, and taken on the line 2-2 of Figure 1;

Figure 3 is an end elevation of Figure 1, drawn to the same scale as Figure 2;

Figure t is a top plan view, similar to Figure 1, showing only one end of the tie with a modified form of rail fastening means thereon; and

Figure 5 is a sectional elevation of the same, taken on the line 55 of Figure 4.

As illustrated in the drawings, my improved tie comprises a central portion 10,

and two shorter side portions 11 bolted thereto, one on each side of the central por tion 10, and extending slightly beyond the end of the same. For standard gauge construction, the central piece 10 will preferably have the same dimensions as the standard railroad tie, except that it is six inches shorter in length, and the side pieces 11 will be of the samewidth and thickness as the piece 10, but only half as long. The fact that the piece 10 is six inches Shorter than the standard railroad tie makes a substantial saving in the cost of this piece from the mill over the cost of a standard tie, when obtained in large quantities, and the pieces 11 may be obtained quite cheaply, as they are much shorter in length and may be made from scrap ends of timber which would be totally unsuitable for making into ties. The cost ofthe entire assembled tie, therefore, is not greatly in excess of that of a single standard tie. It is to be understood, of course, that the pieces 11 will project beyond the central portion the necessary amount, in the above case six'inches, to make the overall length of the built-up tie equal to that usually employed. The three pieces of my improved tie are secured together by means of a plurality of transverse bolts 12.

This construction provides a tie havinga very large bearing surface at the polnt' where this is most needed, namely, at the joint between two rails. For the sake of economy, only one end of my tie is built up to an increased width, because the width of I the standard tie is sufficient where no joint occurs,- and, for the same reason, an ordinary standard tie may be used when there is no joint in eitherrail.

It will be noted that the projecting side portions -11 form between them a notch which permits the trackmen to get at the roadbed to tamp the same firmly under the rail joint, which is a point where the bed endures unusual shocks and therefore requires frequent attention. Moreover, the inner ends of the blocks 11 are square, thus forming shoulders which present a much greater end bearing surface to the roadbed and prevent lateral shifting of the tie after it has been placed in position.

For use with my improved tie, l have devised novel forms of bed plate andsplice bars, whereby the rails will be rigidly held together and to the tie. Referring particularly to Figure 2, 13'denotes a bed plate having upturned side flanges 14, and depending end portions 15. The bed plate 13 is placed transversely of the tie, and is secured to the tie by means of a 'boltI16 passing through the tie and the two end portions 15. The space between the turned down ends 15 i s just equal to the width of the tie, so that the bed plate fits snugly over the tie. The base of the rail 17 fits closely between the flanges 1d of the bed plate, which secure the rail against lateral displacement. The fianges 14 are of a height approximatelv equal to the thickness of the to interfere with the attachment of the splicebars 18;

The splice bars 18 are each formed, as shown in Figure 2, with a vertical portion which is secured to the web of rail 17 by bolts 19, an inclined portion 20 terminating in a shoulder 21, adapted to litover the base of the rail and flanges 14, and a horizontalportion 22 ending in a de sending flange 23.

The flange 23 is adapted to fit in a transverse groove cut in the tie, and the splice bar is provided with holes adjacent. the base of shoulder 21, through which spikes 24 are driven into the tie. The splice bars therefore serve the double purpose of fastening the rails together, and securing them to the tie, while the base plate holds the rails in perfect alignment. The depending flanges 23 cooperate with the spikes 24 and the base plate 13 in preventing sideward displacement of the rails, and add additional strength to the unit.

Figures d and 5 illustrate amodification of my invention, in which a conventional splice bar and a modified form of bed plate are used.- The bed plate 25 is considerably wider than the base of the rail 17, and has portions 26 cut therefrom and bent up to form projections between which the base of the rail is snugly seated. Holes 27 are thus left in the bed plate, through which spikes 2- are driven. The bed plate is provided with depending portions 28 which 1% snugly over the tie, and a bolt 29, passing through the end portions 28 and the tie, secures the bed plate firmly-to the tie. Splice bars 30, of the conventional type, are bolted to the rails by means of bolts 31.

This modification is somewhat simpler than that shown in Figures 1, 2 andfl, but embodies the same advantages. A conventional bed plate is illustrated under the left hand rail of Figure 1, but it is to be understood that a bed plate similar to that shown in either Figure 2 or Figure 5 might be employed, the splice bars, of

course, being dispensed with,since no joint occurs here. 7

Many other changes might be made 111 my invention without affecting the spirit thereof. For example, the tie might be made of reenforced concrete or other material than wood, or my improved construction of rail fastening means. might .be used on atie of standard dimensions, and hence I do not wish to be limited except by the prior art and the scope of the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire to secure by United States Letters Patent is: c 1. A composite railway tie comprising a central portion of sufficient width to support. an unjointed rail, side portions secured to said central portion at one end only, and ex.- tending" therebeyond, whereby an enlarged bearing surface is formed at the said end adapted to support a rail joint, said central portion extending under both rails, but the extended side portions forming the necessary margin atzthe enlarged end, the overall length of the composite structure being that of a standard tie, whereby a notch is formed atthe enlarged end between the projecting end portions, which permits ready tamping of the'roadbed under the joint.

2. A built-up railway tie of the class described, comprising an elongated central wooden member of normal tie width, and two wooden bloclrside members arranged one on each side of said central member at one end only thereof, and extendingtherebeyond, whereby an enlarged bearing surface is formed at the said end adapted: to support a'raizl joint, said two side members having square inner ends whereby shoulders are formed which cooperate with the road bed to prevent lateral shifting of the tie, said central member extending under both rails, but the extended side members forming the necessary margin at the enlarged end, the overall length of the composite structure being that of a standard tie, whereby a notch is formed at the enlarged end between the projecting side members'which permits ready tamping of the roadbed under the joint. I

In testimony whereof I hereunto aflix' my signature.

SAMUEL EDWARDS. 

